Diana Vreeland: Empress of Fashion

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Described by an admirer as 'the High Druidess of fashion, the Supreme Pontiff, Perpetual Curate and Archpresbyter of elegance, the Vicaress of Style', Diana Vreeland is the cloth from which 21st-century fashion editors are cut. Diana joined Harper's Bazaar in 1936, where her pizzazz and singular point of view quickly made her a major creative force in fashion. During her time at Harper's Bazaar and later as the editor-in-chief of Vogue, the self-styled 'Empress of fashion' launched Twiggy's career, advised Jackie Kennedy, and enjoyed the full swing of sixties' London. In Diana's Vogue, women were encouraged to resist fashion orders from on high, and to use their own imaginations in re-creating themselves - much as Vreeland spent her own life doing. In this book, Amanda Mackenzie Stuart portrays a visionary: a fearless innovator who inspired designers, models, photographers and artists. Diana Vreeland reinvented the way we think about style and where we go to find it. As an editor, curator and wit, she made a lasting mark and remains an icon for generations of fashion lovers.

Reviews

'A stylish, funny, fond and vivid book' - Sunday Times
'The research for this book has been exhaustive, but Mackenzie Stuart wears it lightly she writes movingly about Vreeland's marriage without any intrusive psychoanalysis, and her warmth, enthusiasm and particular genius come through in entertaining anecdotes and marvellous quotes' - Spectator
'Paints an enthralling picture of a mesmerising character who left an indelible print on 20th-century fashion' - Hello!

Author Bio

Amanda Mackenzie Stuart worked as a screenwriter and independent film producer for a number of years before publishing her first biography, the critically acclaimed Consuelo and Alva Vanderbilt: The Story of a Daugher and Mother in the Gilded Age. She lives in Oxford, UK.